Borscht Horseradish Terrine: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Serves8 to 10 (first course)

Active time:1 1/2 hr
Start to finish:5 1/2 hr (includes chilling)

February 2009

Food editor Paul Grimes spent hours exploring Nagyvásárcsarnok, Budapest’s largest indoor market hall, where he discovered all kinds of cured and jellied meats, pickled vegetables, and a virtual hanging garden of sausages. This magnificent cold layered terrine, which requires almost no cooking, was inspired by that bounty. Horseradish and sour cream, so abundant in central European cooking, complement the beets and the tongue’s smoky richness. The success of this dish depends largely on using good-quality borscht such as Gold’s Russian Style (avoid brands containing high-fructose corn syrup).

Learn the story behind this dish in our series The Recipe.

Vegetable oil for oiling terrine
2 Tbsp plus 2 teaspoons cold water, divided
4 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from two 1/4-oz envelopes), divided
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon drained bottled horseradish
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 large garlic clove, smashed
1/8 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 lb smoked veal tongue or fine-quality smoked ham, cut into 1/8-inch dice
1 sweet gherkin, finely chopped (2 Tbsp)
1 1/4 cups strained good-quality bottled borscht such as Gold’s Russian Style (reserve solids for another use)

Equipment:

a 1-qt rectangular terrine
Garnish:

lettuce leaves or watercress sprigs

Make horseradish cream layer:

Lightly oil terrine. Cut a strip of parchment paper to fit in bottom of terrine and up the 2 ends, allowing overhang at each end.
Put 2 tsp cold water in a small metal bowl, then sprinkle 1/2 tsp gelatin evenly over water. Let stand 1 minute to soften.
Meanwhile, stir together sour cream, horseradish, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in a bowl.
Heat softened gelatin in bowl set over a small saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring, until dissolved, about 30 seconds. Remove bowl from heat and stir in 2 Tbsp horseradish cream, then stir mixture into remaining horseradish cream until combined well.
Spoon into terrine, smoothing surface, then chill until set, about 10 minutes.

Make broth layer:

Simmer broth, bay leaf, garlic, red-pepper flakes, cloves, and lemon juice in a 1-qt saucepan, covered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Put remaining 2 Tbsp cold water in cleaned small metal bowl, then sprinkle 2 tsp gelatin evenly over water. Let stand 1 minute to soften.
Add softened gelatin to broth in saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring, until gelatin is dissolved. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl, discarding solids. Transfer 1/2 cup broth to cleaned small metal bowl (reserve remaining broth in other bowl). Put small bowl (with 1/2 cup broth) into an ice bath and let stand, stirring gently, until broth is cool and syrupy.
Spoon 1/4 cup cooled broth onto set horseradish cream layer (reserve remaining broth in small bowl at room temperature), then chill terrine until set, about 10 minutes.

Make smoked-tongue layer:

Add veal tongue and gherkin to larger quantity of reserved broth in bowl, then put bowl into a large ice bath and stir gently and constantly until mixture has consistency of raw egg whites. Pour mixture onto set broth layer in terrine and chill until set, 15 to 20 minutes.

Make another broth layer:

Spoon remaining 1/4 cup broth in small metal bowl over set tongue layer. (If broth has gelled, re-melt over barely simmering water, then put bowl into large ice bath and let stand, stirring, until cool and syrupy.) Chill terrine until broth layer is set, about 10 minutes.

Make borscht layer:

Stir together borscht liquid, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in cleaned 1-qt saucepan. Transfer 2 Tbsp seasoned borscht mixture to cleaned small metal bowl, then sprinkle remaining 2 tsp gelatin evenly over mixture. Let stand 1 minute to soften.
Add softened gelatin to borscht mixture in saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring, until gelatin is dissolved. Transfer to cleaned small metal bowl. Put bowl in ice bath and stir gently and constantly until consistency of raw egg whites. Spoon over set broth layer and chill terrine at least 4 hours.